FOKOFPOLISIEKAR: Gauteng's Free Show & the Album has a Name

This weekend Fokofpolisiekar will make good on their promise of a free show for their fans in Johannesburg as part of their crowdfunding success, but meanwhile, the recording of the band’s long awaited 3rd full-length album is well under way… and it has a name!

Fokofpolisiekar in Studio

Jaco S. Venter started recording the drums at Heritage Studios last week Monday and finished up before the weekend. “Everything sounds lekker and natural. We are attempting an organic drum sound on this album,” says Jaco.

This week is Wynand Myburgh’s turn to play down his bass parts at Soft Light City. “I feel blessed to have been able to be involved with so many recordings over the years, but super blessed to be working on the third Fokofpolisiekar album 14 years since we formed the band. Supermassive thank you to everyone for the support over the years. You give the music a life of its own. I am really getting into this album and, dare I say, that I think it is by far the best Fokof material to date,” says Wynand.

The Album Title

With the exception of As jy met vuur speel sal jy brand, Fokofpolisiekar always organically ended up choosing a song on the album as the titles of their albums and EPs - Lugsteuring, Monoloog in Stereo, Brand Suid-Afrika, Swanesang and Antibiotika. It worked out the same this time around.

Wynand Myburgh explains:

“The band’s main lyricist, Hunter Kennedy, wrote a song with the word “selfmedikasie” (self-medication) and it became a working title for that song.

When we started looking for a name we wanted to think out of the box and not pick a song title for the album, but eventually, like with the other album titles, Selfmedikasie stuck because we felt that it was the strongest name.

Fokofpolisiekar has always been a form of self-medication for us as its members. We originally write this music for ourselves and we usually ask ourselves “what do the five of us like?” “What would we like to listen to?” If all five of us agree that it makes sense to us and we like how it sounds, then it becomes a song.

So physically, as well as spiritually, Fokofpolisiekar has become self-medication for us and we think the same goes for our fans.’’

Jozi’s Free #fokofcrowdfunding Show

Amidst Fokofpolisiekar’s Thundafund crowdfunding effort, they promised Gauteng fans a free show should they reach the R800 000 mark, just as they did Capetonian fans when they reached R700 000 in pledges.

They famously surpassed those amounts and with the help of 1 531 backers, they managed to raise 217% of their original dream fund of R500 000, with the closing amount on R 1 082 780.

This Sunday, 18th June, is the day Gauteng fans get their free show as a thank you from the band for their amazing support.